When I say floor I was talking about the balsa in the hull, since that is all that dyne should have. The earlier dynes had two layers of balsa until 73' when they went to one layer of balsa and stringers. People were bad about screwing down batteries and fuel tanks in the back which would lead to trouble down the road. There is a 70' in town here that has bad balsa and if you look under it on the trailer at the front of the bunks you can see a noticeable impression. Maybe, you don't have any of these problems and it is just a motor trim or height issue.
Hello Dyners, well I started taking the floor out. Someone had 3/4 inch treated plywood over the top of the rotted balsa. You could tell it was a quick fix because when I cut the plywood out there was about a 3' by 4' section of fiberglass cut out over the top of the balsa to see if it was rotten,it was. I'm now in the process of taking out the rotted balsa. Wow! what a mess. I wonder if I could put stringers in over the top of one new layer of balsa. Does it have to be balsa or can it be another type of wood? and does anyone know how to do this? Looking forward to helpful suggestions. Footer.
I have never had one of those apart, but I think the hull is made from 2 layers of balsa. Did you find dead spots from the outside? jim
Hey Footer: You need to contact Tom Miller regarding the recoring of you hull. Tom may provide som options beyond the traditional balsa lay-up which will gilve you less grief in the end. There are new structural foam board products out there that may serve you beeter than wood (mastercraft has been using them for years and I replaced a small bulkhead with a piece when I redid my floor in 2000. You are dealing with the structural aspects of the hull and are in for a bit of a project. Ther Balsa lay-up was done with directionally cut strips (i.e. wood was cut to minimize capilarary action or wicking of the wood pores, should moisture get in). There is a lot of balsa product out there but is't a bit of a "buyer beware deal" if you are looking to get the minimal wicking stuff. My $0.02. Kevin-
Hey 69 Dyne: Since there is limited response on re-coring a hull with balsa or other materials at this site, send me a PM at kvbugel@netzero.net and I'll try and help out. Kevin-
Hey Footer: I have attached a pic of the lay-up for a Hydrodyne flat-top hull which should not differ from the tournament skier of the same vintage. The hull structure was crafted by the Amish from the mid-west back in the day, very cool. I do not mean to contradict Jim but the balsa strips were placed longitudinally as shown about 1 inch thick and wide in a "single layer" I have an other article that explains the strength of this Hydrodyne system from a popular mechanics 1969 vintage and will dig it out. Re-coring can be done with balsa or other structural materials of the present, if you have the time and patience but you want to do it right. Cheers, Kevin
I have never seen one apart. I think I was told there were two layers. I have been wrong before. I was also told that the balsa was longitudinal in the early boats and end grain in the stringer boats. I have never seen either core, and I hope I don't. The end grain should be superior as far as controlling water intrusion. The Hydrostream site has an article on core replacement. jim
Never saw inside the balsa core of my boat during the restoration but I did have to replace one of the ski pole support structures on the underside of the starboard side rear deck, and that was all end grain balsa. It had rotted due to the fact that when they cut the opening for the stern light, they breached the glassed-in area of balsa for the ski pole support and over the years water went in around the stern light and rotted the balsa. Also, when I replaced the collar and fuel cap assembly on the front deck, it was apparent that the deck is all made of end grain balsa as well. I assume the hull was made the same way. That is on a 73. Not sure about older boats.
Hello Dyners, I've finally got the floor out of the boat. This wasn't a fun job. By the way,thank you for all the replies and info on re-coring the floor. I've decided to put stringers in instead of balsa wood (thanks for the photo Kevin). I believe it will be much easier and quicker to do. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know. Thanks! Footer.
